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Low Barometric Pressure Drives Wahoo Wild
By CAPTAIN RONNIE SCHATMAN
Second in a two-part series
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From the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos to the
northern Caribbean, is the area for the fall through
spring migration of wahoo in the western Atlantic.
The western Bahamas usually has a good run of wahoo with
small to medium size fish (10-60 pounds) from fall to midwinter
with fewer, but better average size fish in the later
part of the season. In the eastern Bahamas, the big fish in the
100-pound plus range occur from late winter to spring. Smaller
fish are common during the entire season. Wahoo will roam
the vast edges of the banks, channels, points and sea mounts as
they migrate through the Bahamas. It is along these edges and
structures that I target them.
When preparing for a trip, I note the time of the tide on the
days I plan to fish. By doing this, I can plan when and where
I need to be at a certain time. The tides, however, are not the
driving force behind the wahoo’s feeding habits. There are
tides during which they don’t feed. My curiosity about why
wahoo feed the way they do made me look at the relationship
between the weather and its affect on their feeding habits. It
turns out the tide is not the driving force of nature that tells them
when to feed. The force that drives the bite is the trends of the
barometric pressure.
This part of the world is unique because it produces
weather systems that move naturally off the North American
continent in waves of high and low pressure systems. How
these fish respond to these weather patterns can be predicted.
They always respond the same way to the same type of weather.
Using the barometer to record the trends of atmospheric
pressure, we can plan to fish during the favorable conditions and
avoid unfavorable times. This does not mean that I am looking
for flat weather with the sun shining and birds singing. I am
looking at fishing through six- to 10-foot seas when returning
from a day’s fishing or a situation that can force me to anchor
in a remote spot and wait for the weather to change. Wahoo
fishermen are a special bunch; they have to be in order to do
what they do in the winter in the Bahamas. The tide does play
a role during stable periods in the weather in telling us when
to fish. As the trend changes, so does the wahoo’s feeding
schedule. A rising barometer will put the brakes on feeding
and a falling barometer will produce a very aggressive feeding
pattern regardless of the time of the tide.
All stable conditions will produce good fishing. A stable
high usually has the fish scattered out along the edge. Bait
appears to be scarce during this period. More favorable
feeding conditions occur during a stable low pressure. In Part
I, I touched on taking strikes only on the longest line in the
spread. This occurs only when fishing during a high pressure
system. The fishing can be good in that the day’s catch will
be substantial with good numbers of strikes, but only one at
a time on the longest line. These are the days two long lines
can be fished with as much success as a boat fishing five or
six lines. Other days produce numerous strikes on the long
line with mostly pulled hooks. Again, the high pressure is
responsible. Wahoo feed with a minimal amount of aggression
during these high pressure systems and only the smaller fish
will continue to feed. The opposite is true of how they feed as
the barometer falls. This is when they are most aggressive. It
can be experienced as a cold front is passing. The more rapid
the pressure falls, the more aggressive the wahoo feed.
A frontal system that produces great fishing success
will also be the end of your wahoo fishing for several days
following the front until the high pressure dissipates and
stabilizes to once again afford a predictable tide bite on time.
Let me give you a description from my logs of how all this
works during a favorable two days of fishing. With my tackle
set up as discussed in the last issue, let’s look at the action.
Schatman’s Log
It is a nice fall day with the wind out of the southeast
at 10 knots. The barometer is stable at 30.07, high
tide is at noon and the water off Bimini is blue and
running north with the flow of the Gulf Stream. A cold front
is due to come through tomorrow afternoon. The boys and I
have breakfast at “Bob’s” and by 9:30 a.m. we leave the dock
to fish the last two hours of the incoming tide. By noon at 16
knots we should make Riding Rocks, 30 nautical miles south
of Bimini. We put three lines in the water at 16 to18 knots
and take a ride south along the drop-off. The tide is coming
in so I am able to start off Bimini in inky blue water. Not two
minutes pass when a short strike occurs on the longest of the
three flat lines. This little zip tells me we should have a good
day. Harry winds the six feet of high visibility monofilament
line back to the mark and we keep going. Several minutes later
the long line takes off again screaming. We pull a 20-pound
wahoo through the door and take off down the edge. I ask
Harry where the fish was hooked. He replies, “Top jaw, front
of mouth back hook.” We are still a little early. The wahoo’s
aggressive nature hasn’t peaked on the tide yet. By the time we
get to Cat Cay the bite will go off. As I continue down the edge
we pick several singles and pitch a couple of small fish back.
As I pass Gun Cay, fliers are showering on the edge. I troll
through them at 18-knots. Both longs take off. I slow down as
the two 50-pound reels continue to scream. We boat a double
of 35-pounders and back down the edge we go. I ask Harry,
“Where were they hooked?” His reply is “Both hooks inside
the mouth.” The bite is on. Fifteen minutes to Victory Rocks;
two more wahoo, more than 30 pounds, find a new home in my
fish box. We continue to pick all the way to Riding Rocks, nine
fish from 20 to 40 pounds. Two kicked back and no barracuda.
The barometer has dropped slightly. The end of the outgoing
tide should be wild with bigger fish.
Now, it’s 12:20 p.m., the bite is over and we should
catch some bigger fish on the next tide so lets try some deep
dropping while we wait. With the barometer down, the yellow
eyes will bite well. I pick a number from the “Book” and
pull out the Lindgren-Pitman hardware. I have 3 ½ hours to
bottom fish. We do well with the snappers. The last time I
fished with this charter group a high pressure system prevented
the yellow eyes from eating. Today was a treat to see the rod
tips jumping on every drop. It’s now 4 p.m. and up the edge
toward Bimini we go. The pick is slow until I reach north of
Sandy Cay. A double of 50-60 pound fish join their friends
in the box one hour into the bite. Sixteen nautical miles back
to Bimini and we start picking bigger fish, like I thought. All
these fish swallow the lures.
The hooks will be removed at
the cleaning table later. Eleven
wahoo on the first pass and eight
on the way home, 17 on the dock
weighing up to 70 pounds, not bad.
Tomorrow is going to be better. The front is
due to reach us by early afternoon.
The next morning we awake to a southwest
wind about 15 knots. The barometer is down at
29.94 and stable ahead of the advancing front. At
“Bob’s” during breakfast, I tell my charter group that this
is the day we’ve been waiting for. The game plan is to troll
north to Great Isaac Light and fish the northwest corner of
the Great Bahama Bank. Because the tide is 50 minutes later
today than yesterday, the bite will start between 10:30 and 11
a.m. The first pass over a three-mile stretch produces five fish
up to 45 pounds. All are hooked deep in the mouth with both
hooks. The bite is aggressive and our shortest line is busy for
a change. I work the point and exhaust the few fish that were
there. I decide to troll east knowing that I will be heading
back to Bimini from northeast of the island and across the
northwest chop on the bank. Had I fished south today, the
run home would have been into a nasty head sea and hard
northwest wind.
Off to the west by northwest, the sky is dark and the
wind is picking up to 20 knots or more. I continue to push
east with the wind on our back and slow to 14 knots as the
sea conditions build. A single fish here and there keeps us
busy. I reach East Brothers right on time and all hell breaks
loose with 50 to 60 pound fish. All are doubles and triples.
The wind is now northwest at 25 knots and the bottom is
falling out of my barometer. The bite is as fierce as it gets.
Two fish are cut off as the wahoo are striking at everything
in sight that moves including our leads. Today is the day!
The tide has passed and these chainsaws are still biting. The
barometer has bottomed out as the front is passing. A slight
rise in the mercury signals the end of the bite. The strong
high on the west side of the front is here, it’s
over.
It’s 3:45 p.m. and I’m going to
Bimini for a cup of coffee. Eighteen
wahoo, 26 strikes, two barracuda and
one small yellow fin tuna. My anglers
caught the fishing and weather just
right.
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;)
